Fear Factor
by purple.sunrise
Summary: Set during 2x15. As the team races to find Reid, tensions within the team rise. Morgan gains new insight about their new team member. Gideon and Hotch talk. Hotch discovers Emily having a nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: PLEASE READ- I'm going to be changing how post updates on this storyline. This and Wrong Side of a Love Song which I'm also posting today will be the last time I post completely as oneshots. I'm still continuing this storyline however I'm going to be doing it as a mostly single multichapter story instead of how I have been doing it. There are a few reasons though mostly it boils down to logistics and as the story gets longer, I'm starting to feel a disconnect.**

 **Suspicions and Consequences of Cases Past will remain a separate companion piece of the storyline.**

 **I will be putting the already published stories into the new story first before continuing so it is all there. I hope it get it done in the next week and then will continue from there. Apologies in advance for any confusion.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

In the 24 hours since Reid had been kidnapped, the team had been working nonstop to find a lead about where the unsub had taken him. And Hotch was worried. They didn't seem to be any closer tonight to finding him then they arrived the previous evening to find the horrific scene in the barn, drag marks in the cornfield and an injured and traumatized JJ.

Hotch had decided to change their base of operations from the Sheriff's office to the Henkel house. They needed to profile the entire house to learn more about their UNSUB. Garcia had flown down that morning to analyze the extensive computer system in the house. There was a mountain of evidence to sift through. Staying at the house was eliminating the lengthy travel time. Giving them more time to focus on find a lead that would point them in the direction of where to look for Reid and arrest their UNSUB.

Hotch knew if Reid was there he would be able to give them a depressing statistic on the chances the team would find him alive now that they had passed the 24 hours mark since his kidnapping. But tonight it didn't matter what that number was. Not one of them was giving up.

As he was reading through one of Henkel's journals, Hotch could hear JJ and Emily talking. He smiled when he heard Emily invite JJ to go her the following morning. If any of them needed to get away from this farm for a while, it was JJ. He stood up and walked over to ask Emily if her and Gideon had found anything helpful upstairs. It was then that he heard JJ next question to Emily.

As he stood there he continued to look at a journal. After he voiced a similar observation as JJ, he looked up at Emily for the first time and immediately became concerned. She had backed herself into a corner of the hallway between himself and JJ. Her eyes were open wide and glancing quickly back and forth between the two of them. It clearly seemed as if she felt she was being attacked and had backed herself into a corner.

Before he could say or do anything to reduce the tension, Emily found her voice. However, her response was even less reassuring. Now he had more concerns about her coping strategies.

Before any of them could explore the topic any further, Morgan shouted that he had found something outside.

####

Derek Morgan climbed back up the rickety stairs from the ice cellar of the Henkel house back into the cool night air. He quickly noticed Gideon standing over on the front porch, talking on the sat phone the team had gotten before moving their base of operations to this farm. As Derek moved closer, he overheard enough of the conversation to determine the Sheriff was on the other end of the call.

As he paced in the yard trying to get the images of what they witnessed out of his head, a flash of movement caught his eye over towards the barn. With his right hand resting on his gun, Morgan started to walk in the same direction. A break in the clouds as he moved closer revealed that it was a woman he was following.

Slight build.

Straight shoulder length dark hair.

Prentiss.

What was she doing out here by herself?

Morgan could feel his anger at his boss increasing. Why would Hotch have her come out by herself to check a lead?

Gideon had just added to the profile that morning that Tobias felt he was untouchable. His numerous escapes from law enforcement had emboldened him, feeding his delusions.

It would not be out of the realm of possibility that he would return to his house. A house that he had lived in his whole life. Knew the grounds like the back of his hand. He could slip in and back out on a hidden path jumping one of them with the benefit of the element of surprise. And an isolated member of the team, especially in the cornfield that Reid was abducted from, could find themselves in danger.

Morgan had overheard part of the earlier conversation between JJ, Hotch and Emily when he had come into the house to let the team know that he had found the cellar. He could not believe that they were confronting her on that.

JJ doing it was one thing but Hotch's involvement. Morgan shook his head. Hotch should know better. This wasn't the time for that conversation if it needed to happen at all.

Morgan had called out knowing it would interrupt their interrogation. They needed to get the focus back on the case. Finding Reid needed to be their top priority right now.

Relaxing his grip on his gun, he deciding to follow Emily. There was nothing else he could in the cellar. And he was in no hurry to go back into that house. He could help with whatever lead she was following. He followed the path she took and before he could call to her he stopped.

The sight in front of him was heartbreaking. Emily had found a secluded clearing on the edge of the cornfield. She was sitting on what remained of a fallen tree trunk absently looking at the rows of corn in front of her. But from the angle he was at, Derek could see the glistening of tears on her face.

She was affected by the horrors they witnessed on the job just like the rest of them were. She just didn't feel comfortable expressing them around others yet. She was holding all her feelings inside and waited until she could slip away for a few minutes to a cold dark field to let them out.

Suddenly, he felt like he was intruding. Emily had sought out privacy and he was going to respect that. But his concern about her being off by herself remained. Henkel was not going to get another member of the team. Morgan slowly walked away so not to alert her of his presence. He walked over to the barn and slipped into an alcove that the shadows concealed. Emily would have her privacy but he was only a few steps away if that bastard returned.

After a few minutes, Morgan noticed Emily stand and wipe her face. Taking a few deep breaths, she started walking back towards the house. Morgan remained in his hiding spot until she had walked into the house.

Only then did he walk back to the house although he circled around to the back of the house to the kitchen door. As he entered the kitchen, Morgan was surprised to see JJ. Hotch had sent her to rest earlier after Morgan and Hotch walk up on her picking a fight with Gideon as they exited the cellar.

As she began a conversation with him, it was clear that she was riddled with feelings over Reid's kidnapping. She wanted him to say anything to ease her guilt.

But tonight he couldn't give her what she wanted. JJ had been trying to ease her guilt today by lashing out at others. And given what he had just seen, he couldn't bring himself to lessen her pain after seeing Emily's reaction to what JJ had said to her.

Knowing emotions were running hot, Morgan excused himself without responding her JJ's attempt to pick a fight with him.

####

As the evening went on, the tension in house was high. And Hotch wanted to kick himself because the last thing the team needed right now was more drama. And he had no one but himself to blame.

Emily had disappeared outside for a while after they found Charles Henkel's body in the ice cellar under the house. When she returned, she sat in a chair in the living room curled up in a blanket away from where the rest of the team was working. Her body language very clearly saying 'stay away.' The only indication that she was reading the journals she had taken with her instead of being asleep was the turning of the pages every few minutes. Hotch knew he needed to talk to her. But that would have to wait.

It was clear that both Morgan and Gideon had overheard the conversation. And neither one of them were happy that it happened at all or Hotch's role on it. Over the course of the evening, Hotch had seen both of them watching her covertly. Less clear was if Garcia had also overheard it, however he wasn't sure how she would have missed it given the size of the house.

JJ had been told to go rest however that was short-lived. When Morgan had come in through the kitchen door, he ran into JJ in the kitchen. Hotch groaned as he heard her talking with him. That was followed a few minutes later by her having a disagreement with Garcia followed by Garcia walking out of the computer room. It had also become clear over the course of the evening that JJ had taken personally Emily's explanation of compartmentalization as a failing of her own coping abilities.

####

When the call came from the Sheriff about the latest victims, Hotch knew the team needed to check out the scene. His plans of taking Morgan with him were put aside when Gideon said the two of them could go. Hotch nodded understanding the unspoken request. Gideon wanted time alone to speak to him. And Hotch was 95% sure of what the older profiler wanted to talk about.

After assigning tasks to the four they left at the house, the two team leaders left to go check out the crime scene.

Silence and tension filled the SUV as Hotch drove toward the crime scene. The dirt covered back country roads that they needed to take were pitch black. The moon was obscured by a thick layer of clouds. Hotch needed to pay close attention to the unfamiliar road in front of him.

As they got closer to their destination, the road changed to asphalt and the neighborhood illuminated by street lights.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Hotch said. "OK Jason I know you've been wanting to say something to me. Just say it."

Gideon took a deep breath before saying. "What possessed you to say that to her last night Hotch?"

Hotch sighed. They both knew that Gideon didn't need to identify who 'her' was. Hotch knew he had screwed up and feigning ignorance would not have accomplished anything.

"I know. I regretted it as soon as I saw her face. I know I upset her. I know she's annoyed with me. She hasn't said an unnecessary word or looked at me all day."

"She has every right to be annoyed with you, Hotch. You ambushed her. JJ asking was one thing. She is a peer. We all know that what she experienced in the barn was traumatic and JJ feels guilt about Reid. If it wasn't clear before last night to everyone, it has become so since then as she has picked fights with everyone but you.

But you are the team leader. Her supervisor. Instead of interceding and refocusing JJ back to the actual case, you inserted yourself into an interrogation. For you to go involve yourself in that conversation gave the question legitimacy. Made it an official inquiry. Let me ask you this- did you get an acceptable answer to your question?"

"No. You heard her answer. I'm more worried now. Her reaction to the question itself as well as her answer."

Gideon sighed at Hotch's answer. He could see the younger man point. However, in addition the the stress of the case, Gideon was sure that part of Hotch's reaction was his former relationship with the woman in question. That on some level he still cared about her and was doing a poor job of expressing it as concern instead of criticism.

"We all heard the entire conversation Hotch. I'm not saying don't ask if you have concerns. But I do think your concerns are misplaced. But ask it in the office. In private. Give her the same respect that you have given everyone else on the team. The respect you would want in a similar situation. The respect you have been given since you joined the team. Not in the field during an investigation involving a fellow teammate being kidnapped."

"How are my concerns misplaced?"

Gideon shakes his head before responding. "Because I don't think the issue she doesn't feel anything. I agree that would be worrisome. I just think she has learned to put her feelings aside while she's working. There's a huge difference. Hell Hotch, she worked with Crimes Against Children and on a CARD team. You know cases involving children are the hardest. There is no way to work in those areas without finding a way to compartmentalize."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Hotch asks curiously.

"Like I said in my office the day after we got back from Gitmo, she was able to hide her tells during the chess game. Then while you and I were talking in my office that day and she didn't think anyone was paying attention, her tells were clear as day to see. The compassion she showed toward the prostitutes in that DC case and her interviews with Jane and all those kids in Nevada. The effort she put into protecting Morgan's secret during and since the case in Chicago." Gideon says as the SUV turns a corner and a sea of red and blue flashing lights outside a house a block up comes into view.

"That's all true." Hotch said as he pulled up outside the house.

Gideon looked over, making eye contact with Hotch for the first time now that the SUV was stopped. "And one more thing before we go in. Those kids are loyal to you, Aaron. They aren't going to give her a chance as long you keep treating her with an air of suspicion. Do you really think even with everything going on that JJ would have asked her that question yesterday if you had welcomed Prentiss like any other transfer we have had to the team? Think about that."

Gideon releases his seat belt and reaches over to the door handle before continuing.

"I don't want to lose her and I'm going to hold you responsible if we do. She's a good profiler and she has the makings to be a strong member of this team." With that both team leaders open their respective doors and start to walk towards their latest crime scene.

####

After examining the crime scene and latest victims, Hotch and Gideon were on the way back to Henkel house to update the rest of the team.

Thinking back to their conversation on the earlier drive, Gideon continued on while it was just the two of them.

"Hotch, I don't know the specifics about what happened in the previous relationship that you and Prentiss had. And I don't care. I care about the team. And whatever feelings you still have are interfering with the working of the team."

"What?" Hotch said loudly. Looking back and forth between Gideon and the dark quiet road in front of him.

"Don't even try to deny it. I've known you since you were a rookie profiler Aaron. The two of you were involved at some point in the past. And the evidence of it that I've seen has all been from you, not her. Except maybe her not reporting you to HR and/or Strauss yet. And you need to find a way to get past it. And do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Statistically she our best chance of finding a lead on this case."

"In what way?" Hotch asked quizzically.

"She is the newest member of the team. Has only been with us for a few months. So she has the least personal connection with Reid. In addition to that, she is able to stay detached. Objective and not distracted with the same level of worry like the rest of us. She is most likely to see a connection we can use. What you and JJ were confronting her about as a problem is right now our greatest asset to finding Reid alive."


	2. Chapter 2

Hotch sat in the waiting room of the hospital waiting to go visit Reid. After the doctor had come out and briefed the team on his condition, Hotch had sent JJ, Morgan and Garcia to check into the room at a nearby hotel that they had reserved with instructions that he didn't want to see any of them back for at least 5 hours.

Looking at his watch, he decided to give Emily a quick call to check progress on the evidence collection. After the call went to voicemail, left a quick message for her knowing that several of the areas she could be had no cell coverage.

After the team had found Reid, she had volunteered to be the member of the team to stay on site with LEOs to oversee the BAU's portion of the investigation. After he gave her a grateful smile, he went off with the rest of the team to take Reid to the hospital to be checked out by medical staff.

Just then, Gideon walked back into the waiting room with coffee for both of them as the nurse called them over to be taken back to Reid's room. Hotch put in phone in his pocket and walked over to go see their youngest agent.

When JJ, Morgan and Garcia arrived right at the 5 hour mark, Hotch and Gideon left to go back to the hotel room. As they left the hospital, Hotch noticed a text message from Emily about her progress. He sent her back a quick reply on the car ride over to the hotel. Once there, both team leaders collapsed onto their respective beds, exhausted from the last few days.

####

Emily closed the file in front of her and looked at her watch. 6:32 AM. She groaned and laid her head down on top of her arms that were resting on the table in front of her. It was official. She was completely exhausted. She would just rest her eyes for a few minutes.

It had been almost three days since she had slept for more than an hour at a time. Her stomach was also rebelling against her. Making her feel sick. The three days with little intake except for bad coffee was taking its toll. Looking for Reid had taken priority over everything else. Thankfully they had found him.

And now that most of the paperwork for the case was done, they would be able to leave soon after Reid was discharged from the hospital. He was probably the only one who was going to be more anxious to get the hell out of Georgia than the rest of the team.

After finding Reid in the cemetery, a member of the team needed to stay with the Sheriff's staff to process the scene and collect the evidence that the FBI would analyze.

Someone also needed to return to the Henkel house and do the same there. The Sheriff had already given permission for some of the evidence, including all of the journals, to go back to Quantico with the BAU temporarily for research purposes. All of that needed to be catalogued and boxed up and brought into the Sheriff's office.

Seeing the relief on the faces of the rest of the team, Emily volunteered to stay behind. She felt out of place in their reunion. An outsider. That feeling was reinforced when none of them gave her more than a token argument.

As the rest of the team drove away, Emily took a deep breath and blew it out. Even with the grisly tasks that she just agreed to take on she could feel herself relax a bit. She needed a few minutes to herself. All of the togetherness in that small house had been stressful. She wanted to get done what they needed to so they could all go home.

It was well after 2:30 AM by the time Emily had arrived back at the Sheriff's station after finishing at both the cemetery and the Henkel house. All of the evidence that would return to Quantico with the team was in holding while the file she held had the inventory and chain of custody paperwork.

After the night supervisor assigned her a workspace, Emily sat down to start working on the paperwork they would need to hand into the Sheriff before the team could leave. All of it would need Hotch's signature so she couldn't complete it. However, she could complete everything but his signature.

####

As Hotch walked into the Sheriff's station at 7:30 AM, he was greeted Sheriff who thank him and the team for finding the UNSUB, saying the people in his county could finally relax. The Sheriff inquired about the condition of the agent who had been kidnapped. After reassuring him that Reid was stable and expected to be released later in that morning, Hotch asked about the status the case. The Sheriff smiled and said the bulk of the evidence collection had been completed overnight.

Looking around the station, Hotch could not see Emily anywhere. The last text message he had from her was that she had completed their portion at the crime scenes and she was headed to the Sheriff's office though that had been several hours earlier.

Noticing Hotch's scanning eyes of the room, the Sheriff asked if he was looking for his agent. As Hotch nods, the Sheriff points to a small workroom towards to the back of the station. Before he can walk away, the Sheriff mentioned that she had fallen asleep about an hour earlier. He continued on that he had shut the door to the room so the noise from the station won't wake her after the night supervisor reported that she had been working on paperwork since arriving at the station several hours earlier.

As he quietly opened the door to the workroom the Sheriff had indicated, he took in the sight in front of him. Emily was sitting in a metal folding chair. Her head was rest on top of her crossed arms on top of the long rectangular table in front of her. Most of her face was covered by her hair. Her even breathing indicated to him that she was still asleep.

After quickly entering the room and quietly shutting the door behind him, Hotch walked over and picked up the stack of files to her right. Moving a chair, he sat down at the other end of the table and began to look at her paperwork.

Opening the first file, he was shocked. He looked through each sheet in that file before then going through the other file folders in the pile. Closing the last file, Hotch looked back over to his subordinate in awe. She had done all the paperwork for the case. Or at least most of it. There were a couple of forms that he noticed were missing. And a few other minor changes that needed to be made. But other than that, he just needed to sign off the rest and they would be done. So instead of being here for the ~5-6 hours he had estimated they could be walking out the door in under 90 minutes.

Looking back over at her, Hotch knew he was going to have to make it up to her. Not only for what he said a couple of days earlier but for staying up to do all this paperwork. They could leave as soon as Reid was discharged and he could be home by early afternoon to spend time with Jack and Haley.

Kicking himself, Hotch now wished he had thought to bring her breakfast and coffee. He had been anxious to get into the station to get started that he hadn't thought about it. He had been planning to send her back to the hotel to eat, rest and shower while he worked.

As he considered going to the coffee shop across the street to do just that, he heard a moan from the form at the other end of the table. That was quickly followed by shuffling of her feet and the extending her arms under her head. Another moan followed by whimpering and then mumbling as she turned her head from side to side while still rest on her arms.

Hotch quickly took note that she was having a nightmare, moving up next to her to wake her up.

"Prentiss"

With no response, he moved closer.

"Prentiss"

Again, no response. So Hotch decided to change tactics.

"Emily, wake up. Emily." Hotch said forcefully while shaking her shoulder.

In a flash, Emily had jumped up from the table. Hotch had to react quickly to catch the fist that was on target to land on his face.

"Emily, it's OK. It's me, Aaron. You were having a nightmare."

"Sorry, sir." Emily said as Hotch released her wrist.

He internal rolled his eyes believing they had gotten past her calling him 'sir'. "Are you OK?"

"Aaron ?" Emily replied confusedly, looking around the room, ignoring his question. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night? I thought you were at the hospital."

"It's almost 8 in the morning. I was at the hospital."

"Oh. OK." Emily replied suddenly aware that he just caught her having a nightmare and narrowly avoided being punched by her.

"Reid should be discharged this morning." Hotch said as he noticed her break eye contact and try to smooth out her hair that had gotten messed up as she was thrashing. Unfortunately her efforts were messing her hair up even more. It was clear to him that she was embarrassed by what he just witnessed so he changed to subject to ease her discomfort.

"Good. I'm glad he's OK." Emily replied. Suddenly the sick feeling she had before falling asleep was back with a vengeance.

Hotch turned to walk back to end he where had been sitting. Before he could turn around to ask Emily a question, he heard 'excuse me' and saw a flicker of red from her shirt as she darted out the door.

####

'Lauren, Lauren'. Emily looks around and she is back in the basement of Ian Doyle's house. How did she get back here? She looks to her side and there he was, standing there with an evil grin on his face. She was sitting on an uncomfortable chair but couldn't stand up.

Looking back to her side, now not only was Doyle there but several of his henchman surrounding her. Turning away from and looking to the other side was Declan.

'You need to choose Lauren.'

'Choose what? I don't understand.' Looking in front of her were four screens each having a member of her JTF-12 teammates on it.

'Choose which one dies.'

'No I won't do it.' Emily tried to stand up but found herself tied to what was now a high backed wooden chair that was bolted to the floor.

'Choose Lauren. Choose who dies. Who betrayed you Lauren? Who betrayed you?'

'No, I'm not doing it. I don't know who betrayed me. I won't kill an innocent person.'

'If you won't choose one of those four, how about them?' Emily looked up and there were suddenly 7 additional screens that had the pictures of her BAU teammates and Strauss.

'No, they haven't done anything wrong. This isn't their battle.'

Doyle walked up to her and slapped her across the face. 'That is my decision, not yours. Maybe I should kill all of them.'

'NO!' Emily screamed. 'Don't kill them.'

'Then you choose Lauren. Or maybe I'll just kill you instead.' Doyle turned away from her towards where Declan was standing. 'Or even better. Come here son. It is time for you to learn the family business.' Emily watches as Declan walk towards them. As he moved closer to her, his face morphed into looking more and more like Doyle.

'Ian don't do this. He's a child. Don't let him see this.' She sees Doyle hand Declan the gun and help him hold it up. She struggles to break away from the ropes that are holding her in the chair and she can't get loose.

'Prentiss'

Wait how does Doyle know my real name?

'Prentiss'

She sees Doyle lift the gun as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Emily continues to struggle to get free but the ropes were too tight.

'Emily, wake up. Emily.' Suddenly Emily found herself on her feet with a firm grasp holding onto her wrist.

"Emily, it's OK. It's me, Aaron. You were having a nightmare." Emily looked around the room and stops struggling against the hand that is holding her wrist.

No basement. No Doyle. No screens. No Declan.

Police station. Georgia.

Hotch? What is he doing here? He went with the rest of the team to the hospital with Reid.

"Sorry, sir." Emily said as she pulled her wrist back from Hotch's grasp.

"Are you OK? Hotch said looked at her concerned.

And the answer was no but she couldn't tell him that. It had only been two days since he had questioned how she was handling the job. A nightmare about a case that ended over two years earlier would just lead to more questions. Especially since that case wasn't in her official file. She needed to deflect.

"Aaron? What are you doing here in the middle of the night? I thought you were at the hospital."

"It's almost 8 in the morning. I was at the hospital." Emily looked at the clock on the wall. So it was. It would make sense since it was after 6 when she fell asleep.

"Oh. OK." Emily answered slowly, embarrassed.

"Reid should be discharged this morning." Emily heard Hotch say as she try to smooth out her hair and could feel that she was failing miserably. She closed her eyes and tried to refocus. The nightmare had seemed so real. She could feel her already upset stomach clenching up.

"Good. I'm glad he's OK." Emily answered relieved. Suddenly she felt like she was going to be sick. She did not want to vomit in front of him. Needing to get out of room, she turned and walked out quickly, ignoring when Hotch said her name.

####

Hotch looked up from the files and noticed that 20 minutes had past since Emily darted from the room. Not seeing her through the open door, he looked back down at the file in front of him. He was hoping that she had headed over to the coffee shop to get some breakfast. If she hadn't, he would tell her to go over when she returned.

He was pleasantly surprised how quickly he was getting through the massive amount of paperwork that this case had generated. With most cases, he would work on the paperwork as the case progressed. However, with Reid missing, the paperwork had been pushed to the side and every minute was dedicated to catching the UNSUB and finding Reid.

Shortly after Emily had left the room, he had called Gideon to check in with the team. Gideon reported a quiet night for Reid and that the doctor was anticipating a 9AM discharge time. Hotch asked him to pass on to JJ to call and let the pilots know that they wanted to be wheels up by 10AM. That the rest of the team should go right to the airport from the hospital. He and Prentiss would meet them there with the evidence they were taking back with them.

Hearing footsteps outside the door, Hotch looks up to see Emily reenter the room. He immediately became concerned at her glassy eyes, chalky complexion and forearm across her midsection.

"Emily, what's wrong?" Hotch says as he stands up and walks toward her.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm fine Hotch." Emily said.

Hotch raised his eyebrow, looking at her skeptically. "No you're not. You've spent the last 20 minutes ago in the restroom. Probably spent most of that time throwing up. Too little sleep and almost no food over the last few days combined with the awful coffee we had at the house? An intense nightmare was the last straw."

Emily stood up straight and glared at him. "Don't profile me, Aaron! I'm fine."

Hotch took a deep breath and shook his head. "Emily, just sit down and relax. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." He motioned to the seat that she had been sitting in earlier before walking out the door.

Walking down to the station break room, Hotch walked up to the vending machine, inserted a few coins and took the can of ginger ale that was dispensed. Moving over in front of the counter, he started opening various drawers under the coffee maker. He smiled when he opened the second to last drawer to find various leftover items from takeout meals. Pulling out a couple of packages of oyster crackers, he picked the can of ginger ale up and headed back to the room where they were working.

Entering the room, he noticed that Emily was sitting back down at the table, going through one of the case files. Walking over to her, he put the ginger ale and crackers down next to her.

"Here. To help settle your stomach." Hotch said as he picked up the file she had in front of her.

"It's not necessary. I'm fine." Looking at the offending items he had put down next to her. "I was working on that file." Emily said glaring at him holding the file she had just been looking at.

Hotch sighed and took a breath before answering. He could see that she was attempting to not look weak in front of him. And he was going to give her some leeway to prevent it. "Well if you are still fine when we leave here, we'll stop and get you some breakfast before we head to the airport. For now, please try that." He said motioning to the can and crackers. "And unless you have learned to forge my signature, there isn't much you could do in that file." He smiled slightly when she looked up to meet his eyes.

"Thank you. You didn't need to get this." Nodding, Emily said motioning to the can and crackers in front of her.

"And you didn't need to stay up all night doing all this paperwork. Thank you. I should be able to get the rest done in the next hour or so. I talked to Gideon. Reid will be discharged around 9 and because all of this is done, we can go wheels up around 10."

"That's why I did it. I needed something to do. And I knew that Reid would want the rest of you at the hospital with him. None of us wanted to be here any longer than necessary. This has been a hard case all the way around."

Hotch suddenly felt guilty again for his comment a couple of evening before.

"Yes. This is going to be a case that stays with all of us for a while. Emily, I need to apologize to you."

"For what? Saying what you thought? Can't we just forget it and go on?" Emily said bitterly.

"No, we can't forget it. I'm apologizing for bringing it up the way I did. It was wrong to do it during a case and in a public area. But it is a conversation we do need to have. And we will once we are back at the office."

"Can't wait." Emily replied sarcastically

Hotch shook his head and looked back to the files. Not surprised at her response.

####

Putting his pen down, Hotch stood up, taking the stack of files with him. Everything was completed. Now he just needed to make copies, hand the originals to the Sheriff and pick up the evidence they were taking with them from holding. By his estimation, they could be ready to leave in the next 10 minutes.

After refusing to let Emily do any more of the paperwork, she had sipped on the ginger ale and finished one pack of the oyster crackers before curling up in a slightly more comfortable chair in the corner of the room away from the table. She hadn't fallen back to sleep but Hotch felt a bit better than she was at least resting.

Walking back into the room after handing in the paperwork from the case, Hotch caught Emily's eye.

"We are done here. Do you want to get something to eat before we head for the airport?"

"Thank goodness. No. I'm OK for now." Emily said standing up.

"If you're sure. When we get back to Quantico, I want you to go straight home." Hotch said, looking at her pointedly.

"I don't need to go home. I can work." Emily said, glaring at him. She walked over to the table and picked up her belongings and turning for the door.

Hotch blocked her path out of the room. "It's not going to be just you. I'm sending the whole team home. I already spoke to Chief Strauss. We are all off until Monday once I hand her this file. Our reports for the case won't be due until then either. And we won't go back on rotation until Reid and JJ are cleared by medical and psych."

"OK. Monday."

####

Gideon looked from his book and glanced around the jet, taking in the sleeping forms of his colleagues. They had taken off about an hour earlier. Even at this early hour, barely noon, almost everyone was asleep. The turns they took at the hotel in no way came close to making up for the days of little sleep while Reid was missing.

He was relieved when Hotch announced as soon as they took off that everyone was going home when they landed until Monday. They would stay off rotation after that until everyone was cleared by medical and psych. The days off should allow everyone to recharge and come back the following week in a better place.

This case had brought the team to the breaking point. Questioning themselves and each other in ways they are never supposed to do. And he and Hotch were just as guilty as the rest of the team. There was going to be fallout. Gideon just hoped that the team could withstand it and become stronger as a result.

When Hotch and Prentiss had arrived at the jet, the rest of the team had already settled in for the flight home. As the two walked through the plane, he was pleased to see that the tension that had been growing between them had lessened. He took that as an indication that Hotch had taken to heart what they discussed in the SUV and took steps to smooth things over with Prentiss.

As Prentiss took her seat in the back of the plane away from the rest of the team, Gideon noticed that she looked sick and completely exhausted. Unlike most flights, she hadn't stopped by the galley to grab a cup of coffee nor did she carry a to-go cup with her.

His suspicions were confirmed a couple of minutes later when on his way to his seat, Gideon noticed that Hotch dropped off a couple of small packets of Saltines, a can of the lemon-lime soda that was stocked on the jet and a blanket with Prentiss which she took gratefully.

What he noticed next made him feel very guilty. As she unfolded the blanket and draping over herself, Gideon noticed that unlike the rest of the team, Prentiss was wearing the same clothes as the day before. He should have expected it as she had spent the night in the field and at the Sheriff's station instead of at the hospital and hotel with the rest of them team. And while the rest of the team had only gotten to nap for a few hours, it appeared that she had not slept at all.

As Gideon was about to turn back to his book when he heard a quiet tapping sounds behind him. Looking back, he suddenly noticed that he wasn't the only one awake on the plane. In the cluster of seats behind him, Prentiss was surprisingly still awake. She was curled up in a seat by the windows tightly wrapped in a blanket. Her complete concentration seemed to be on whatever she was looking at outside the window of the plane.

As he looked closely, he observed the tapping was her from her hand that was resting on the wall of the plane just under the window. It did not appear that she was even aware that her hand was doing this nervous tic. While her attention was distracted, Gideon took a few minutes to observe her. It was rare that she could be observe her without noticing and building up walls.

The tapping was a tell he hadn't noticed before today. Though with everything they had been through the last few days, it was impossible to accurately tell which of the hellish events of the last four days she was reacting to. Or had something happened last night while the rest of them were at the hospital?

As he listened while processing this new tell, Gideon's eyes popped open. He recognized the rhythm of the taps. He had first come across finger tapping when he worked dually with the CIA. It was taught to field agents as a coping mechanism to use if ever captured and tortured.

Hotch hadn't said anything about her having a CIA history however he also knew that that job history wasn't always in an official file. He still hadn't looked over her file that was still sitting on his desk. Hopefully that would help him figure out some of the mystery that still surrounded their newest agent.

Looking back at her, Gideon wondered was the finger tapping now as a reaction to watching what all of them saw happened to Reid or had the events of the last few days triggered something that happened to her in the past? Or both?


	3. Author's Note

As I mentioned last week, I have placed all of the oneshots on the Hotchniss storyline into one document and will continue the story there.

The new story's title is Our Unpredictable Road.


End file.
